In Pursuit of Something Better
by AlideSummer
Summary: A broken girl is trudging her way through life after leaving her beloved hometown. A single dad is trying to pave his career as a doctor while being both a mother and father for his little girl. What will happen when their paths cross? Bella/Edward, canon pairings, Single Fatherward :) Please review xxxx
1. Prologue: Chapter 1

A/N: **WARNING: This story contains a mention of rape. Please do not read if this will deeply disturb you. **

Please review! This is my first story and I will welcome any constructive criticism.

Prolouge

I was cleaning what felt like the thousandth plate that night when I felt it.

His hands.

On my body.

I froze.

They were on my hips, inching their way up my sides.

A girl was screaming inside my head, but his advances met no resistance.

Paralysed, I lost any sense of the present. It was like my body gave up without even trying.

Later they would ask "Why didn't you run?" "Why didn't you kick? Scream? Do anything to resist him!?"

And I would have no answer.

That night, Isabella Swan became trapped inside my head.

She watched as the lifeless form she inhabited morphed into a shell of the girl it once was.

With every burning touch, every raging word, I disintegrated.

By the time devil sauntered away, he had left me as nothing but a pile of ashes on the floor.

Easily picked up by the wind, blown out into the nothingness on a sweltering summer's day.

And just as easily swept under the carpet.

Useless. Dull. Defective.

Life bustled on around me. But I was no longer there. No longer living, really.

It's funny how long you can go in life without speaking. Most people never notice. They do all the talking for you in their heads. They make up your story, your feelings and your reactions. They see what they want to see.

She's shy. She's bored. She has low self-confidence.

There was no light at the end of the tunnel. I'd stopped trying to find it a long time ago. But I kept walking down that pitch-black tunnel, because that's what you do, right? Keep walking?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: If you or anyone you know is experiencing a crisis of any kind, contact your local or national crisis support/suicide prevention centre or hotline. **Depression is a serious illness and should be treated as such. It is not a figment of one's imagination.**

It had been a long shift at Seattle Hospital. Ready to collapse, I gathered my things from my locker and headed for my car.

"Hey Eddie! You done for the night?"

I rolled my eyes. It was my brother Emmett.

"Yeah I'm just heading out now." I replied.

"Dad just wanted me to give you a lift home. Doesn't want you having an accident."

I nodded, grateful for the offer.

We climbed into Em's car and he fired up the radio. Loud death metal boomed from the speakers. Emmett bobbed his head to the beat and strummed his fingers on the steering wheel. I rolled my eyes once again, but didn't bother begging him to turn it off. Radio at 3am in Seattle was limited to death metal or chart toppers from the 90s.

We pulled up at my house and I clambered out, murmuring my thanks for the lift.

As I was walking out the driveway Emmett leaned out the window and shouted,

"Don't forget dinner at the 'rents on tomorrow night! Ali's bringing the new boyfriend. And bring my little Maisie, it's been too long!"

"Right. We'll be there. See you, Em." I nodded in farewell and waved him off before walking the rest of the way to the heavy antique door of my home and letting myself in.

"DADDY!", cried an excited voice.

I heard the frantic footsteps of my little girl running down the hallway, and before I could crouch down to catch her, she ran straight into my legs, nearly knocking me over in my zombie-like state.

"Maisie, sweetie, I've missed you so much.", I said as I bent down to pick her up and envelop her in my arms, nuzzling my nose in her hair. She was warm and I inhaled her clean, baby scent. I sighed.

"I missed you too, Daddy. Did you make lots o' people better tonight?", she asked, her big blue eyes boring into mine.

"Mmhmm. But it's time for you to be in bed, Little One.", I frowned. Why was she up at this hour anyway?

"Where's Jessica, Maisie?"

I looked down to see her asleep in my arms, her head resting on my chest.

I smiled softly and kissed her head.

I'd worry about my daughter's unreliable nanny tomorrow. I carefully carried her up the stairs and into her room, laying her down gently. But apparently not gently enough.

Just as I was tiptoeing out I heard her call softly,

"Daddy? Can I sleep in your bed tonight?"

Damn it. I froze. I thought I'd gotten away with it. I'd been having this problem with Maisie for two years now. Do I pretend I didn't hear and pray that she just falls back asleep?

"Daddy? Pleaseeeeeeeeee? Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

Her begging was pulling at my heartstrings and I gave in.

Turning around, I whispered, "Yes, munchkin, but only for tonight. Do you promise to sleep in your bed tomorrow night?"

She nodded fervently and I held out my hand for her.

Once she was settled in bed, she asked me, "Daddy can you sing me my lullaby?"

Nodding, I quietly hummed her special tune.

Once her breathing became steady, I kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear,

"Love you, Maise. Sweet dreams, Little One."

And with that, I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

An opportunity.

An escape.

The right moment.

The right timing.

It was all in front of me and within all of a millisecond, I had done it.

Taken the plunge.

Freed myself.

But heaven wasn't all as perfect as I had planned.

They say the road to paradise begins in hell so I suppose I was still holding onto my hope as I heard metal on metal, lights flash before my eyes, something plunging into my abdomen and thick, warm liquid pooling around me.

_If I just stay here long enough, and lay really still, maybe it will happen. Just maybe._

As I lay there with those grim but astoundingly hopeful thoughts running through my head, I thought of my mother.

Every summer I was sent off to my dad's place across the country and every morning before we went to the airport I would hide under my bed with exactly those words running through my little head. She would shake her head and laugh, drag me out from under the bed and send me on my not so merry way.

I would never resist because I knew then the fight was over. I could try again the next year.

So when they dragged me out from under that car, their gentle hands and concerned faces met no revolt.

_Next time, _I thought, _it'll happen next time._


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Maisie and I woke up late and had a slow Saturday.

We made pancakes with way too much food colouring in the shapes of Frozen characters…because that's what Maisie wanted. Who was I to deny her!

As we sat down on in front of the TV to eat our interesting pancakes and watch the morning news, I grabbed a bit of pancake and was about to stuff it into my mouth when Maisie shrieked "Daddy! You can't eat Elsa's head!"

I grinned and stuffed it in my mouth. The look of shock on her face was priceless.

After breakfast Maisie went off to do some painting on the back porch and I made some phone calls to the hospital to follow up on patients I had seen last night. They were all recovering well so I decided to tackle the issue of Maisie's nanny, Jessica.

We went to dinner at my parent's house in the early evening. Maisie was almost visibly bubbling with excitement when I told her that we were going. She was always showered with affection and attention when the family was together. My parents and siblings doted on her, being the first grandchild and all.

Poor old Maisie was going to have to get used to sharing the attention sometime soon though, as Emmett and his wife Rosalie were expecting their first child soon.

My little girl was full of questions on the drive over to the house.

"So you know how Auntie Rosie has a baby inside her tummy, Daddy?"

"Yes munchkin,"

"When will it come out?"

"Um…December, I'm pretty sure."

"But how long, Daddy?"

"That's about three months I suppose."

"Hmm." She was quiet, lost in her thoughts. A little frown was creasing her forehead and it took so much to keep my eyes on the road and not be lost in her adorableness.

"Daddy?"

"What is it darling?"

"Is that where all the babies come from? People's bellies?"

"Yep. Everyone comes from their Mommy's belly."

"Even me?"

"Yep, you too, Maisie."

We pulled up in my parent's driveway and I helped Maisie out of her booster seat.

"But I don't have a mommy. I only have a Daddy. Did I go in your belly then, Daddy?" she asked, giving my stomach a completely serious inquisitive stare.

I would have been laughing if I weren't so confused about how to answer the question. I crouched down so I was eye to eye with her.

"Hey how about we talk about all of this later, Little One? Look, we're about to go inside and see everyone…"

As if on cue, my energetic sister bounced down the grand front steps of the house and sprinted to my daughter, swooping her up and swinging her around, eliciting a beautiful fit of giggles from the girl in her arms.

Dinner was uneventful, as usual. Cheerful chatter filled the dining room and I felt content, surrounded by my family. Alice's new boyfriend seemed nice enough. A little shy if anything, but sure to come out of his shell as he warmed to the family. Ali was infatuated, and as much as it was amusing to see, I prayed to god this infatuation wouldn't end in heartbreak. We'd all have to bear the brunt of it if it didn't work out.

I heard a voice coaxing me out of my thoughts – my father, was asking me,

"Did you hear about her? Edward?"

"Who?"

"The girl involved in the three vehicle accident on Traine Street. She came in on Thursday."

"I was with students all day Thursday. Why?"

"Oh nothing really. It's just Alice's friend."

"She's due to be discharged tomorrow.", said Alice.

I nodded, confused about how this friend of Alice had anything to do with me.

"I'm worried about her." she continued.

"Well if she's being discharged she must be – "

"No Edward, not like that. I'm worried about her up here", she said, pointing to her head. She leaned in closer to me and whispered, "Those three vehicles involved in the crash, none of them were hers. She wasn't even in any of them."

"And? She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in it."

"Maybe. But four witnesses, including two of the drivers, are testifying that she threw herself in front of one of the cars."

"So you think she was attempting suicide?"

Alice shrugged, shaking her head and taking a sip of her wine.

"I don't know what to do. She's been really off the past…well, year really. It's odd. And then last month her dad went and had a heart attack, then she lost her job at the school…" she paused.

"I think I'll offer her my couch. She says she's fine but I'd bet she's not making the rent.", she said.

Alice had a kind heart, but she was really going to far here. Alice lived in a teeny-weeny one bedroom apartment on the bottom floor of a crappy inner-city apartment. It was bad enough that she lived there, heaven forbid she share it with anybody else.

"Ali, you can't do that. You've got no space to breathe as it is."

"Well what else am I going to do? It's not like I'm not going to let her rough it on the streets."

We paused for a moment, the grisly thought of a young, broken girl becoming homeless silencing us.

"Alice, did you say she worked at a school?"

"Yeah she taught at the adjoining kindergarten. Loved it there. They laid her off because of state-government budget cuts."

"And she's looking for work?" I asked.

"Mmhmm." she replied.

I was just about to mention the possibility of the girl working as Maisie's nanny when I stopped myself. The girl could be a nutcase. I didn't want to get Alice's hopes up so I quickly changed the subject to her favourite topic at present, Jasper. Alice's face lit up as she enthusiastically recalled Jaspers' agreement to go shopping with her tomorrow. I gave him a sympathetic glance. Poor man had no idea what he was in for…

Maisie fell asleep in the car on the way home, and thank heavens she didn't wake up when I took her to her bedroom.

"Night Munchkin. Sweet dreams, I love you.", I whispered, bending down to kiss her soft hair.

As I was closing the door, I heard a small but clear voice whisper back, "Wuv you too, Daddy."

Those four words made my heart melt.


End file.
